The third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has been abandoned after Scotland was hit by heavy rain.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for a large part of central Scotland, while a yellow weather warning covers most of the country.

There will be no play on Saturday at the DP World Tour event at St Andrews due to the inclement conditions, with Ryder Cup hero Matt Fitzpatrick currently one shot clear at the top of the leaderboard.

A statement on the DP World Tour’s official X page read: “Saturday’s play has been abandoned. Round three will begin at 09:00 local time on Sunday morning.”

Dundee’s Scottish Premiership game with Ross County has also been called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Dens Park outfit said in a post on X: “Following the referee’s pitch inspection this morning, today’s match with Ross County has been postponed. Constant rainfall throughout the night and more forecasted has meant the match has been called off.

“The safety of travelling fans has been taken into consideration.”

Dunfermline’s Championship clash with Arbroath has also been postponed after failing an 11am pitch inspection.

In League Two, Bonnyrigg Rose’s match against East Fife and Elgin City’s home game with Stenhousemuir have also fallen foul of the weather.

Ryan Fox held his nerve to claim his second DP World Tour win of the year after posting a four-under final round to take the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by a single stroke.

The New Zealander clawed back a four-shot deficit to pick up his third tour title on the Old Course at St Andrews, edging out Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren for top spot with a total of 15 under par.

Fox took advantage of a final-day collapse from overnight leader Richard Mansell, who blew his sizeable advantage with a closing 76 to fall back into a tie for seventh. 

Despite three bogeys, the 35-year-old kept his composure with seven birdie finishes across the day, enough to see off challenges from Englishman Shinkwin and Sweden's Noren in the closing stages.

The trio just beat out Rory McIlroy, with the FedEx Cup Champion posting the second-best round of the day on six under to come home in fourth, on the course where he narrowly lost the Open Championship earlier this year.

The Northern Irishman carded 75 on Friday to effectively take him out of the running, though his impressive rally was bettered only by South African George Coetzee, who managed an impressive seven-under 65.

Victory caps a bumper year for Fox, who reached a highest world ranking of 46 in July and romped to a five-stroke victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic back in February.

His only other tour title came in 2019, when he claimed the Perth International.

Richard Mansell heads into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship armed with a four-shot lead and a glorious chance to earn a first DP World Tour win.

Englishman Mansell was one of just three players to go under 70 when wild weather made for troublesome golfing conditions on Friday, and the 27-year-old followed that impressive 68 with 67 on Saturday to reach 15 under par.

At a tournament where the first three rounds have been split daily between St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, it is Mansell who will start on Sunday as the frontrunner when all competitors head to the Old Course for the closing 18 holes.

Three players sit four shots off the pace, with Sweden's Alex Noren losing ground to Mansell after going round in 69 at St Andrews. He was joined on 11 under by two players who competed at Kingsbarns on Saturday: England's Daniel Gavins (67) and New Zealand's Ryan Fox (65).

Mansell, who played Carnoustie on Saturday, has yet to win on the tour and entered this week on the back of two missed cuts, but he has had top-four finishes this season at the European Open, World Invitational and European Masters.

The world number 218 is having the best year of his career, earning almost €550,000 (£480,000) already, and he can more than double that on Sunday, with $816,000 (£730,000) on offer to the champion.

The low round of Saturday came from Belgium's Thomas Pieters, whose bogey-free 64 repaired some of Friday's damage, when he followed his opening 65 with a ruinous 84.

Rory McIlroy had a 75 on Friday but rebounded with 66 at St Andrews on Saturday to reach seven under, likely too far back to mount a challenge on the final day.

Richard Mansell overcame tricky conditions to shoot a four-under-par 68 to ensure he goes into the weekend at the top of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard.

Mansell carded the lowest score of the round to get to ten under par, helped by four birdies on the front nine as he battled through the wet and windy weather.

The Englishman now holds a two-shot lead over Sweden's Alex Noren in second, while Antoine Rozner and Niklas Norgaard Moller sit three shots behind the leader on seven under par.

Romain Langasque, who equalled the best-ever round at the Old Course at St Andrews with his opening round of 11-under-par on Thursday, endured a nightmare second day as he shot an eight-over-par 80 to fall to 19th.

Rory McIlroy was another to struggle with the conditions, with the world number two going round in 75 at Kingsbarns to drop to joint-43rd.

Scot Robert MacIntyre remains in contention after carding a second round of 70, while English pair Callum Shinkwin and Daniel Gavins are also in striking distance on five under par.

Frenchman Romain Langasque leads the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after producing an outstanding 11-under-par opening round of 61 on Thursday.

Langasque – who is 272nd in the official world golf rankings – hit two eagles, eight birdies and just one bogey in his round, equalling the best-ever at The Old Course at St Andrews made by Ross Fisher in 2017.

However, he sits just one clear of compatriot Frederic Lacroix, who went round in 62 at Kingsbarns.

It was a good day for the French as Antoine Rozner looked to have locked out the top three for them, before Dane Niklas Noergaard Moeller also carded an opening round of 63.

"It feels very good," Langasque said of his achievement. "As I said to my caddie, it didn't feel like I shot 11 under today. I was having a good run, but just five, six was the way I think of it, but just the end of the course was amazing.

"I holed a few long putts. The game was great but it didn't feel [like] I shot 11 under.

"I never [thought] I'd have the course record at St Andrews, now I think my name is on this board so I am really happy about this. It's only the first round so I want to stay really focused for the next few days."

Rory McIlroy could not match those numbers at Carnoustie, hitting six birdies and two bogeys as he finished with 68, but the world number two was pleased enough with his first round.

"I started really well," he said. "I played the back nine very well, then sort of stalled a little bit and made a couple of bad swings coming in. Overall, you are not going to get Carnoustie in easier conditions so I feel like I left a few shots out there.

"It was a decent day and to play decent, you do not want to be chasing in what looks like really bad weather tomorrow so I've put a red number on the board and have a few shots to play with."

Danny Willett revealed in a "magical" triumph after clinching the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on his 34th birthday.

Willett went into his final round at St Andrews with a three-shot lead and stayed ahead of the field to claim his eighth European Tour victory by two strokes with a closing four-under 68.

The Englishman made the turn on the Old Course three under and holed his fifth birdie at the 10th, going level par the rest of the way to finish 18 under par.

Willett was briefly caught by Richard Bland, who made five birdies on the front nine to hit the turn in 31, but a one-over back nine meant Bland finished three shots behind.

Joakim Lagergren and Tyrrell Hatton finished in a tie for second at 16 under, with Shane Lowry a shot further back alongside Bland.

However, the day belonged to Willett, who sealed his first win since the 2019 BMW PGA Championship, having endured a bout with COVID-19, suffered with appendicitis and had a hernia removed in an extremely challenging 2021.

"It's magical," said Willett, who will move back into the Official World Golf Ranking top 100 with this win. "On British soil with everyone here, it's been a great week.

"To win here, to be British and to be able to win on British soil, to win at the home of golf, this is a very special one. Especially after how the last kind of year and a half has been for everyone involved. Especially for us, we've struggled a little bit with things.

"This one, for everyone watching, this seems quite out of the blue but the practice I've been doing at home and the inner belief we have every time we get in and out of position to do something was proven again.

"Doesn't matter where it is, who it's against, it's just a question of if the game is in shape. When it is, we're all right."

Danny Willett gave himself a golden opportunity to celebrate his birthday by winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after taking three-shot lead on Saturday.

The 2016 Masters champion could toast turning 34 on Sunday by claiming his first title since his BMW PGA Championship triumph in September 2019.

Willett's impressive six-under bogey-free third round of 66 on the Old Course at St. Andrew's moved him to 14 under, three shots clear of Tyrrell Hatton, Richard Bland, Shane Lowry and John Murphy.

Englishman Willett overcame difficult weather conditions to move into a strong position.

"Early on, with a decent bit of wind, downwind, you always feel like you should take so many chances," said Willett.

"You need to drive it close, and as soon as you get on the 12th tee, you know you've got pretty tough conditions coming straight into the wind on the last six holes. I really had a go on the last six and gained a lot of shots coming in doing that.

"It's nice that the fans are back this week, the format is back, we missed it last year. I think it's great to have everyone here. We're getting cheered on, so it's great to be back on British soil. Another 18 holes to go, and we'll see how we do."

Three bogeys in a row on the back nine for Hatton after a promising start of four birdies from his opening five holes saw the 29-year-old drop into joint-second at 11 under as he signed for a one-under 72.

"Got off to a very nice start, and then just hit a couple of loose shots, just lost all momentum, to be honest," Hatton said. "I think from the eighth hole, just never really got anything going our way.

"I think there were only a couple of times where I had a realistic birdie chance, and I hit a good putt, and it bobbled off line or whatever."

Bland carded a sublime eight-under 64, while Irish duo Lowry and Murphy are firmly in the mix after going round in 67.

Tyrrell Hatton emerged from day two of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as the outright leader, but there are still multiple contenders to claim glory this weekend.

Englishman Hatton ended day one in a four-way tie for the lead, but even though he could not repeat his stunning first-round score of 64, settling for a two-under round 70 on Friday was still enough to claim the advantage.

World number 19 Hatton is 10 under for the tournament, one shot clear of compatriot Daniel Gavins after playing the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Li Haotong, one of Hatton's co-leaders overnight, and Danny Willett are tied for third on eight under at the European Tour event, with Tommy Fleetwood and Denmark's Jeff Winther one shot further back at seven under.

Former Open champion Shane Lowry produced the best round of the day, with his eventful 67 featuring an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys. He is sitting at six under, four off the lead.

However, the two other overnight leaders, Nicolas Colsaerts and Adri Arnaus, struggled to remain in contention, in contrast to Hatton and Li.

Colsaerts is now five shots off the lead, while Arnaus trails by six after a miserable 76 which featured five bogeys and a double bogey.

Hatton, part of the European team that suffered a record-breaking 19-9 defeat by USA on American soil in the Ryder Cup last week, is looking to triumph in the tournament for a third time.

He previously lifted the title in 2016 and 2017.

Tyrrell Hatton produced a magnificent back nine to sit in a share of the lead following the opening day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Hatton is looking to triumph in the tournament for a third time, having lifted the title in 2016 and 2017.

The Englishman was part of the European team that suffered a record-breaking 19-9 defeat by USA on American soil in the Ryder Cup last weekend.

However, he quickly overcame that disappointment with a hugely impressive back nine score of 29 at Carnoustie – aided by five birdies and an eagle – to move joint-top of the leaderboard on eight under.

"Obviously, we needed a big back nine and very happy that the putter worked well and hopefully that continues," Hatton said after his score of 64.

"It's always nice to start pretty good around this golf course. You go to the other ones and feel like you've got slightly more of a chance than here, so we'll see what the week brings."

Three-time European Tour winner Nicolas Colsaerts has also started well in his quest for a first triumph in two years.

The Belgian recovered from bogeying the second hole on the Old Course at St Andrews with five birdies and two eagles, also carding 64.

"Once you start to play well at the home of golf, it's a pretty nice feeling when you hit the shots," he said.

"Making two eagles on the two par fives and a birdie on 18, you basically tick every box on the Old Course, which is nice."

Meanwhile, China's Li Haotong and Spaniard Adri Arnaus carded bogey-free opening rounds to join Hatton and Colsaerts on eight under par.

Local favourite Ewen Ferguson is one of three players who are a shot behind the early leaders, along with Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey and Frenchman Romain Langasque.

Defending champion Victor Perez, who triumphed in 2019 before last year's tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, had a steady start, carding an opening 71.

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